Senegal

Years of deforestation have left communities like Kaymor prey to floodwaters which wash away the top soil, carving canyons and ravines through the middle of villages. With the help of food assistance, residents are learning how to slow down the flow with barriers that protect the top soil and their homes.

For the 1.3 billion people living on less than a dollar a day who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, vulnerability to climate-related shocks is a constant threat to food security and well-being. As climate change drives an increase in the frequency and intensity of natural hazards, the challenges faced by food-insecure communities will also increase. The question of how to build rural resilience against climate-related risk is critical for addressing global poverty.

Hunger is on the rise across the Sahel region of West Africa, a massive swathe of territory that stretches across eight countries from Chad in the east to Senegal in the west. Here is a rundown of the situation in each country and a look at how we're responding to help the people who live there.

For the third time in a decade, drought in the Sahel region of Africa is threatening millions of people with hunger. But how do people survive in these situations and what are we doing to help them? Here are the answers to eight questions about the current hunger crisis in the Sahel and WFP's response to it.

In mid-May, WFP launched its restocking of cereal banks in Senegal as part of the response to the Sahel food crisis. The launch took place in the commune of Nétéboulou in the central region of Tambacounda.

WFP has launched an emergency operation to deliver life-saving food assistance to thousands of people fleeing conflict in Mali. As refugees stream into areas already strained by drought in the Sahel, it's imperative to reach them with assistance in time for the summer Hunger Season.

At the end of April, WFP launched its food assistance activities in Oukout in the Ziguinchor region of Senegal. In total, WFP aims to assist over 800,000 people in Senegal this year as part of its response to the food crisis in the Sahel region.

In early March, Toshinori Sato of Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries traveled to the Fatick region of central Senegal to visit the Projet Bas Fonds (PBF), a WFP supported project that helps communities reclaim unused land and increase agricultural production.